Love and Movement

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 13, 2006 by MARK ARNEST THE GAZETTE

"Flourish" marks a new chapter in the history of Ormao Dance Company.

Two new chapters, actually.

This weekend's program by the all-female modern-dance company will be its first performance to live music -- in this case, a medley of opera arias. And the hourlong "Flourish" is the longest piece the group has ever created.

"Up until this project, the longest single concept piece I'd done was about seven minutes," says choreographer/dancer Tiffany Weeks. "It was the first time I'd challenged myself to do a longer-length piece of choreography."

Though there isn't an overarching story to "Flourish," there's a conceptual through-line to its nine sections.

"Each section is about relationships," says Weeks. These include mothers, sisters, casual friends and members of the community.

"I wanted to break it up into the nine sections so I could focus on one thing at a time," says Weeks. "Some sections are funny, some are romantic. That way I wasn't doing 30 minutes of serious, dramatic choreography."

The piece's inspiration was Weeks' summer experience working with opera singers at the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

"I was so moved by the intensity of the vocalists that I knew I had to create a dance with live opera," says Weeks.

And she wanted the result to be direct and approachable enough that it might widen the audience for both modern dance and opera.

"I wanted it to be accessible to children, so they could be exposed to opera and to modern dance and not be bored," she says.

The biggest difference between performing to live music versus prerecorded music is the nuances of the timing.

"The recorded becomes predictable," says Weeks. "The dancers learn where the nuances are."

That's not the case with live music, in which the rhythmic nuances are never exactly the same twice.

"Working the timing to serve the music and the choreography at the same time has been a challenge," says soprano Judeth Shay Burns.

But there have also been unexpected moments when the interests of singer and dancers came together, such as "Un bel d vedremo" from Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," which is performed as a romantic duet with Weeks and ballet dancer Jonathan Guise.

"I was trying to sing it like their recording, which was Maria Callas," says Burns. "When we finished, they said, 'Judy, can we go any faster?'"

Callas' slow tempo, which made the dancers' lifts and turns more difficult, also made it harder for Burns to sustain the vocal line.

"Of course we can go faster," said Burns; "Faster is easier."

The two groups found other points of contact.

"The breathing with opera singers, like dancers, is very important," says Weeks. "For them, it's hitting the big note; for dancers, it's hitting the big jump."

The result has been not just a new work, but some new friendships.

"There's this amazing amount of respect on both sides," says Weeks.

Ormao's first major collaboration with live musicians won't be its last -- not even this season. The company will be collaborating in March with the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble.

details

ORMAO DANCE COMPANY presents "Flourish"

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Louisa Performing Arts Center, Colorado Springs School, 21 Broadmoor Ave.

Tickets: $15 advance/$17 at the door, free for children under 12; 577-4556 or 471-9759